Martin Brundle suggests Lewis Hamilton needed an engineer swap earlier: "something needed to change"

Martin Brundle says he is surprised Ferrari didn't change Lewis Hamilton's race engineer sooner

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle claimed he was "surprised" that Lewis Hamilton had not changed his race engineer sooner.

Hamilton joined Ferrari in 2025 after a 12-year stint with Mercedes and took some time to adjust to the new outfit. While he secured a sprint race win in China, he failed to get onto the podium at any grand prix during the 2025 season.

During his first year with the Maranello outfit, there were hints of some friction between Hamilton and his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, at times.

Now Ferrari has confirmed that Adami is being moved to another part of the company. Hamilton's new race engineer is yet to be confirmed. "Ferrari HP would like to thank Riccardo for his commitment and contribution to his trackside role and wishes him every success in his new position. The appointment of the new Race Engineer for car #44 (Hamilton) will be announced in due course," the team stated.

"I'm surprised it probably didn't happen a bit earlier, really, judging by all the things that were going on last year," Brundle said during an appearance at the 2026 Autosport Awards.

"Lewis needs to go there with a team so that at least they understand 'Lewis speak' when he's inside the car, what it all means, and to interpret what Lewis really needs behind the wheel.

"Just listening to the radio and watching the performance, although they obviously put a varnish on it through last season, something needed to change."

Ferrari unveiled its 2026 F1 livery on 23 January ahead of private testing next week. The new design incorporates more white accents on a bright red base with pops of blue to match the team's title sponsor, HP.

The 2026 season will start with the Australian Grand Prix on 6-8 March, followed by the Chinese Grand Prix the week after.